Our First Do It Yourself Family Project: DIY Sandbox with Roof

Today’s Do It Yourself Family Project was brought to you through a partnership with Bosch Power Tools. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Living in a city where summer is a full-time season means we get to enjoy the outdoors year round. We keep a small pool and various outdoor toys for the girls in the backyard. The only thing missing was a sandbox. I’ve eyed sandboxes for quite some time, but never followed through with a purchase – and I am glad I didn’t because we’ve started on our very first do it yourself family project, a DIY sandbox with a roof!!!

When Bosch reached out to partner for a Father’s Day DIY project – I was both nervous and ecstatic. Although I typically get things done – nothing a little crazy glue can’t hold together, right? – my experience with tools is mostly in the form of Swedish furniture and a small L-shaped piece of metal that magically puts everything together. None the less I was honored that they believed in me and enthusiastically said YES because I knew immediately what I wanted to do. The girls were finally going to get a sandbox and we were going to build it together as a family. Without skipping a beat I started to search the internet for the perfect sandbox – and to give ourselves a run for our money it was also going to need a roof because Miami sunshine is beautiful but strong and hot.

I can across a few really nice sandboxes, but one DIY sandbox with a roof jumped out at me and said PICK ME, PICK ME! How hard could this be right? The instructions seemed easy enough – a moderate-cost ONE DAY project, and with our Bosch tools already on their way this was going to be easy-peasy. And it was, mostly for me because I sent Jason and Papa out to conquer the hardware store and get the required wood, nails, etc. I quite enjoy the role of project coordinator – I’m a natural-born leader!

The time we spent building memories as a family is what truly made this project priceless. With Jason away at college most of the year, him and his dad don’t get to spend much time together. We didn’t just build a sandbox for the girls, we built memories that will last forever. We learned new skills, we learned to work together, we shared ideas, but most importantly we spent time together – something that can not be found on a store shelf and has become more precious over the years. Watching my husband work side by side with each of the children is a memory I will treasure forever. The girls will now have a sandbox that they can enjoy year round – remembering their brother when he’s away at school.

The base of the sandbox is complete thanks to the Bosch Compact Tough™ Drill Driver.

Marking the base for placement of the supporting beams for the roof.

Time to pull out the muscle…or rather the Bosch 15-Amp Corded Circular Saw.

Supporting beams in place and ready for the roof.

The Bosch Bluetooth PowerBox™ is keeping him entertained while he figures out the next step.

Teaching Jason to properly place a bit into the drill.

Pre-drilling the holes for the roof support.

Lining up the frame for the roof.

Framing the roof.

Working together to put the roof on.

Sanding everything down so that the girls don’t get any splinters and prepping for painting. Inspectors Emily and Anabelle are giving everything the once over – including making sure you can swing from the support beams.

The girls picked out their favorite color for the accent painting of the seating blocks.

With a little help from Papa and some paint in her hair and on her clothes, the roof gets a paint job.

Our easy-peasy do it yourself family project went from being a one day project to taking about a month to complete because LIFE, but I’m totally cool with that – isn’t it the tortoise that wins the race? Tonight we’ll be finishing it up – installing the painted seats, landscaping fabric and pouring in the sand. The girls just received some new sand toys and they are ready to dig! So stay tuned for the big reveal of our first Do It Yourself Family Project coming on Father’s Day with a special Bosch 18V 2-Tool Kit w/ Compact Tough™ Drill Driver giveaway!

What kind of exciting do it yourself family project have you been dreaming of building? Get your family started with the perfect Father’s Day gift that keeps on giving. Give the builder in your life a Bosch 18V 2-Tool Kit w/ Compact Tough™ Drill Driver and start building memories! Join the conversation online as well as check out all the fun DIY projects you can create with #BoschBuildsMemories.

Awww how fun!! My husband and I were just talking about building our own sandbox, as the store bought ones seem way too small for 3 kids! I love yours, especially the roof! 🙂 What a fantastic way to spend time together as a family!

Wow what a project. I love sandboxes and I think ever kid should have one. I love the roof over it. I don’t know if you have a way to cover the sand part but watch out for cat poo. They love to go in sandboxes.